The benefits of the right technology to your restaurant are beyond your wildest dreams. Here are examples of popular technology as well as some reasons to get it and what it can help you achieve.

Digital POS System

Over four-fifths of all restaurants use a POS system, and these are getting more and more sophisticated with time. Some POS systems integrate with tabletop tablets so customers can look at digital menus, place orders, and pay themselves. Others offer advanced reports, which make it possible to identify which product categories are make the restaurant the most or the least money. You are better able to develop a sales strategy when you know which items on your menu are not performing well! Then, you can adapt your items or your menu and much more depending on your industry as a result.

A POS system offers in-depth analyzes of guests’ ordering behavior automatically. This POS system advantage will let your restaurant adapt its needs without having to waste time.

The purpose of a POS system is to save your business money and time, but restaurants that simply buy one without taking any further steps are not realizing their system’s full potential. Increasing returns and improving productivity are ongoing processes, not something that you can achieve all at once.

POS systems let restaurants analyze inventory, manage sales patterns, and flag items for reorder. Basically, they are like cash register, but they opens up a new world of data about your restaurant.

Facial Recognition Technology

Currently the corporation Alipay is working on a facial recognition payment system, allowing customers to leave their wallets at home. This system is intended for quick service and fast food restaurants and aimed at improving customer service, streamlining current ordering and wait-time processes, and moving customers through in a more efficient fashion.

Online Ordering Technology

Online ordering has transitioned from simply a good feature to have to a vital tool for increasing your revenue. Restaurants using POS system online ordering solutions have increased their revenues a great deal. Having your own system means saving money on commission fees for repeat customers.

Full Self-Service Checkout

Self-ordering and checkout is expected to hit the mainstream very soon, and it has already happened in several major chains. By increasing the speed, with which clients move through the line and through their meals, full self-service checkout technology will make fast food even faster and render ordering more precise, ultimately improving customer satisfaction.

Email Marketing Campaigns

Email service providers are among the most affordable restaurant technologies you can try today. This third-party software can be used to manage and send email marketing campaigns. You can create attractive emails to your customers elucidating your upcoming events and specials with easy to use templates. The provider will track analytics for you, like who opened your email and what they clicked on. This will help you improve your campaign with time.

Wi-Fi

If you do it right, free Wi-Fi is one of the restaurant technologies that can significantly enhance your guest experience. A lot of guests use smart phones to track game scores while sitting in a bar or restaurants. If you have free Wi-Fi, they may choose your venue. Thus, Wi-Fi could potentially lead to higher sales revenue. Bigger groups may need a place to work and will choose a place specifically for the Wi-Fi service, especially during less busy hours when they know they can get a table.

Nevertheless, a word of warning: always use a credible service provider. A poor connection leaves customers feeling frustrated and reduces the chances of them returning for business.

Entertainment Restaurant Technologies

According to a recent survey, more than two-thirds of consumers find visiting a restaurant to be a form of entertainment in itself. Add the following entertainment-focused restaurant technologies to make your place more popular.

Handheld Entertainment

The use of restaurant tablets goes above and beyond helping customers place orders and pay. Some companies offer restaurant tablets loaded with trivia and entertaining games. These restaurant tablets can even be used to run a poker tournament or live trivia event in your restaurant! You can attract a very big number of customers with the right handheld entertainment. Solo patrons can dive into a digital arcade that’s “open” at all hours, while big groups may come in specifically for a round of trivia.

Either way, restaurant technologies that offer tabletop entertainment are likely to increase repeat visits. People who use these devices pay more than those who don’t – by an average of 21%.

Management Technologies

You’re probably sick and tired of juggling management tasks. Investing in the right restaurant technologies can take some tasks out of your queue. One example is restaurant reservation software. Can your restaurant take online bookings? If yes, a restaurant reservation system can alleviate the process and make it simpler for you and your staff to track and manage reservations from any channel.

Restaurants are moving online in search of new patrons in the era of technology. Whether it be through reservations from social media or website bookings, a booking system helps you consolidate these bookings into one platform, giving you more time to focus on driving revenue to your business.

Order Customization

Even on automated systems, human error still plays a role. Experts are hoping this will no longer be a problem in the near future. The most crucial aspect of this is that order customization technology lets staff spend more time in food preparation and delivery and less time canceling mistyped orders.

Video Content Technology

Companies like Netflix, YouTube, and Apple are investing in original video content at breakneck speed. Data of Cisco show that video will account for 80% of all Internet traffic this year and up to 90% in the United States. Your restaurant needs to invest in video content to stay current and as a marketing tactic. Part of this content should be a “sneak peak” type look into the kitchen or something along those lines. The behind-the-scenes look into your restaurant’s inside processes should paint a bigger picture of your inner workings.

To read more on topics like this, check out the technology category.